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The Thanos Quest

The Thanos Quest #1: Schemes and Dreams

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Thanos embarks on the ultimate quest of love and all-consuming destruction to obtain godhood through the Infinity Gauntlet!

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

11 people are currently reading
238 people want to read

About the author

Jim Starlin

1,339 books446 followers
James P. "Jim" Starlin is an American comic book writer and artist. With a career dating back to the early 1970s, he is best known for "cosmic" tales and space opera; for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock; and for creating or co-creating the Marvel characters Thanos and Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. Death and suicide are recurring themes in Starlin's work: Personifications of Death appeared in his Captain Marvel series and in a fill-in story for Ghost Rider; Warlock commits suicide by killing his future self; and suicide is a theme in a story he plotted and drew for The Rampaging Hulk magazine.

In the mid-1970s, Starlin contributed a cache of stories to the independently published science-fiction anthology Star Reach. Here he developed his ideas of God, death, and infinity, free of the restrictions of mainstream comics publishers' self-censorship arm, the Comics Code Authority. Starlin also drew "The Secret of Skull River", inked by frequent collaborator Al Milgrom, for Savage Tales #5 (July 1974).

When Marvel Comics wished to use the name of Captain Marvel for a new, different character,[citation needed] Starlin was given the rare opportunity to produce a one-shot story in which to kill off a main character. The Death of Captain Marvel became the first graphic novel published by the company itself. (

In the late 1980s, Starlin began working more for DC Comics, writing a number of Batman stories, including the four-issue miniseries Batman: The Cult (Aug.-Nov. 1988), and the storyline "Batman: A Death in the Family", in Batman #426-429 (Dec. 1988 – Jan. 1989), in which Jason Todd, the second of Batman's Robin sidekicks, was killed. The death was decided by fans, as DC Comics set up a hotline for readers to vote on as to whether or not Jason Todd should survive a potentially fatal situation. For DC he created Hardcore Station.

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5 stars
302 (39%)
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290 (38%)
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142 (18%)
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25 (3%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
Profile Image for Jon Nakapalau.
6,616 reviews1,042 followers
February 10, 2026
Thanos goes after the 6 Soul Gems...but each Elder who possess a gem will protect it. Classic confrontations that will reverberate through so many storylines! This is a nice way to get acquainted with Thanos if you are new to comics; the ruthlessness and cunning he exhibits is really focused on here - a great read!
Profile Image for Maria.
227 reviews15 followers
June 25, 2016
This is Part 1 of 2 in the story of how Thanos acquires the Infinity Stones. The Thanos Quest is the precursor to the Infinity Gauntlet. The trade I own combines both Parts 1 & 2 into one volume, but that volume didn't exist on Goodreads. So for simplicity, I'll review both Parts.

This story picks up with Thanos working for his Mistress Death after his reincarnation. There isn't any backstory to who, what, where, when, or why he is Thanos. I was okay with that; I have enough working knowledge of the character that I was content with the story of his quest for the stones. Thanos travels the galaxy on his quest to locate each stone and obtain it from the elder currently controlling it.

I enjoyed the art, which at first I wasn't too keen on. I typically prefer the grittier art, and this isn't like that. But the bright colors grew on me. I also was pleased to discover that this wasn't my first read of Jim Starlin. I didn't realize he wrote Batman: A Death in the Family, which I read earlier this year and really enjoyed.
Profile Image for Stephen.
1,516 reviews12.5k followers
September 24, 2010
3.0 stars. Part 1 of a pretty good story in which Thanos (one of the more interesting "ultra powerful" characters in the Marvel Universe) begins stealing the six "Infinity Gems" from various other cosmic characters in order to make himself all powerful so that he can finally be "worthy" of being the consort of Death (who he has had the hots for forever). Decent writing, art and story.
Profile Image for Alex.
863 reviews38 followers
May 17, 2018
I've read this right after "the infinity gauntlet". I know I went a bit backwards but, not being a Marvel reader in general, I didn't know the infinity saga (Quest, Gauntlet, war, crusade etc etc). Still I really enjoyed this one as much as I enjoyed infinity gauntlet. Finally I get to know a superhero villain that actually has motives and reasons to do what he does, even if those motives are a bit basic and weak.

The illustrations by Lim were excellent, the coloring also. I don't think it outdated, it's too heavy a word to use for a series that only dates back to 1990, especially when we have decades of superhero comics that earn the title much better than that.

Both books were equally enjoyable and you don't need to know all the tie-ins and other series that led to the beginning of this cosmic event. That's great for anyone not familiar with the specifics, the ins and outs of the MU. The only small complaint I might have is that 100 pages for a story that epic, with all the fights between thanos, the elders and the in-betweener were too few. I'd like to see it more spreaded and with more exposition and backstory. Still, it's one of the best Marvel storylines I've read so far next to Infinity Gauntlet and Civil War.
Profile Image for Devero.
5,102 reviews
March 7, 2015
Il miglior personaggio creato da Jim Starlin è certamente stato Thanos. Graficamente ispirato a Darkside di Jack Kirby, se ne differenzia col tempo per via della psicologia contorta, che in questo primo numero di due viene approfondita e chiarita in modo magistrale. Perché Thanos, innamorato della Morte, riportato in vita da essa per riequilibrare l'eccesso di vita senziente nell'universo, non è comunque mai contento. Vuole la Morte come amante, ma vuole anche essere l'unico amato dalla Morte. Per questo si mette alla ricerca delle Gemme Dell'Infinito, per farne un guanto e diventare DIO.
Le 6 Gemme sono proprietà di sei esseri, come lui, dotati di enormi poteri. Ad uno ad uno Thanos li rintraccia secondo un preciso piano, e li affronta sconfiggendoli spesso sul loro stesso terreno, nella loro stessa specialità, fino a beffarli. Perché Thanos è convinto di dover provare, a se stesso prima che agli avversari, di essere degno di quel potere.
In questo primo numero lo osserviamo affrontare e sconfiggere l'Intermediario, il Campione e, con suo sincero dispiacere, il Giardiniere. Il come è un vero piacere per la mente.
20 reviews
March 7, 2015
Perhaps nowadays the style in which Ron Lim draws this story, with the fantastic inks of John Beatty and the painted colors by Tom Vincent, may feel outdated. Perhaps it's Thanos' own style, with the spauldrons and the gauntlets and so on. Some people who've seen this for the first time in this day and age have commented to me in that sense.

Yet I mantain that, perhaps of all of Starlin's production, this and its second book are the most ageless piece you can find. In its depiction of the absolute dedication the protagonist displays in the titular quest, this story is completely removed from the judgement of time because it forfeits all references to elements that might bring it up.

The setting is pure space opera, even in the Marvel universe, yet the point is not even that. This is the story of a being so much in love with the incarnation of Death that he has tried to offer her an entire universe time and again. But it is also the story of how not even truly absolute dedication may offer the reward you seek when you transcend the rules of reality so much that the object of your desire is Death, and your goal is to become her equal.

For a work of the eighties, this is one I feel is justified in its verbosity. We are not getting the "readers paid money so the comic must not be over too soon, let's fill it with words" treatment. Without exaggeration, Thanos' own thoughts in the captions are philosophical reflections on himself, his goal, existence, and those he meets in the quest. Not only is every move and decision pondered and weighted; so are his enemies. Against each, Thanos employs an aspect of what they represent, which is what he seeks. The different aspects of power that, when collected in the most absolute form of the universe, the Infinity Gems, lead to true godhood. No doubt is left in our minds about what he is doing and why, and we root for him. When the book is finished, we want to read the next one to know the ending, we want it as absolutely as he wants Death to love him.

Visually, once again a modern reader may wonder why some choices were made. In an era when technology has at one time broadened and fossilized our potential for perceiving imaginary worlds, by making some creations incredibly plausible and lifelike, yet also repeating itself to the point of standardization, it may take some aback to see interdimensional travel rendered through woven lines and splashes of paint, but artists of the time had a way of making these deptictions appreciable because they were *artists* and we were shown their *impression* of these imaginary scenes. Even today, however low fidelity this may feel to those accustomed to HD and digital sharpness, it is none the less a fantastic visual work. I am not even a fan of Lim's style, but for this particular piece I would want no other artist. His Thanos is to me unrivaled.

So in case it wasn't clear, I'm recommending this book and it's successor.
2,367 reviews31 followers
May 2, 2018
The quickest 50-page comic I've read.

This is the beginning of the familiar story. Thanos asks permission from death to collect the six soul gems. He claims it will help him serve her better. Permission is granted. Of course, Thanos has ulterior motives.

First, he claims the soul gem from the In-Betweener, who is imprisoned. Together, they are able to break the In-Betweener out. The price is the soul gem. This is Warlock's previous stone.

Next up is the Champion's power stone. They battle an epic fight. The Champion holds his own but destroys his planet. He is left to float eternally among the debris. He agrees to relinquish his power stone for a ride to the next planet. Thanos drops him onto the nearest planet.

Finally, we encounter the Gardener again. He gem permits him to grow the most beautiful gardens. He has no desire to part with it. Thans uses his power gem to augment the Gardener's stone to kill the Gardener.

Thanos now has three of the six stones.
Profile Image for Quinton Baran.
526 reviews
May 15, 2018
A nice setup for the Infinity Gauntlet series. The artwork is great, and I love how Thanos shows his intelligence, planning, and drive.
Profile Image for Kevin.
32 reviews
May 10, 2018
Rollicking good cosmic fun as Thanos, the Mad Titan begins his quest to collect the Infinity Gems from unsuspecting Elders.
Profile Image for Mike.
932 reviews45 followers
June 3, 2012
"Schemes and Dreams" is book 1 of the 2 book story "The Thanos Quest." Published in 1990 it was a lead in to a giant crossover event in the Marvel Universe, "The Infinity Gauntlet." Thanos, servant of Mistress Death, sets out to collect the six Soul Gems (later known as the Infinity gems), each in the hands of one of the beings collectively known as the Elders. Book 1 covers his journey to obtain the Soul, Power and Time Gems.

Jim Starlin and Ron Lim were a fantastic team, and well known for their work in the cosmic corners of the Marvel U. Thanos is a particularly interesting villain: incredibly powerful, but brilliant, ambitious and devious beyond measure to boot. Starlin makes his search for ultimate power compelling, and Lim's art, while a different style than that of today, is excellent none-the-less.

The Thanos Quest gives incredible insight into the central player in The Infinity Gauntlet epic, and is a great story on it's own as well.
Profile Image for Harold.
465 reviews2 followers
April 23, 2014
If you were wondering who that big purple bad guy was at the end of "The Avengers" movie, then The Thanos Quest: Book One and Two will do a good job of explaining his back story and motivations. I read these comics as a kid, but thought I would dust them off and get myself primed for some of the future Marvel movies - which seem to be borrowing elements of The Infinity Gauntlet (a classic mini-series that sees a ton of different superheroes banding together to wage cosmic war on Thanos). The Thanos Quest serves as a prelude to that storyline, explaining how Thanos obtains the six Infinity Gems that grant him godlike power. Things get a bit silly at times, but it's always fun to see the full, bizarre extent of the Marvel universe.
10 reviews
April 21, 2014
This book was great. This is the first book of the two part mini series and is the prelude to The Infinity Gauntlet.
The story is pretty basic. Thanos has the task from his love death, to destroy/kill half of the universe !
Thanos finds out that to do that he must use the great six infinity gems/stones. They belong to the externals, the equivalent of gods in the Marvel universe. The first three externals we meet in this book is The Beyonder, The champion and the Gardner. As good as this book is, Thanos is my favourite character so people may not feel the same way to this book as I did. In my opinion, I think that this two part event is brilliant but this first part is not as good as a second.
Profile Image for Colin Moon.
109 reviews5 followers
June 23, 2012
These two books seem like a sort of galactic primer for the Marvel Universe; Thanos runs around, meeting ageless beings and abstract constants, and he even hits the Nexus of All Reality (which, if anyone is keeping track, is the thing Man-Thing guards entrance two in the Florida everglades. So that's neat). Starlin essentially lays out the entire concept of the Infinity Gauntlet here, explaining what the soul gems do and what Thanos will be able to do with them. And, therefore, this is a good place to start reading to anyone confused about the mid-credit sequence of The Avengers flick.
Profile Image for Alex Sarll.
7,159 reviews369 followers
Read
February 5, 2015
More cosmic hijinks with that lovable scamp Thanos. While the knock-off Darkseid himself might have attained movie stardom now, it's hard to see his adversaries here - such abstractions as the In-Betweener (no, not Louise Wener) and the Gardener - following him to the big screen. But given Marvel Studios' gloriously mad ascendancy, who can tell anymore?
Profile Image for Don.
1,562 reviews11 followers
January 28, 2016
This was great, really wish I'd read it before the Infinity Gauntlet series, but hey life goes on. Just like the other one, this is a very smart book with lots of internal action going on. The artwork is average in this one, was really the only thing that was disappointing. If you like Marvel's space operas, this will be right up your alley.
33 reviews1 follower
August 24, 2016
Where it all began

The only thing that this is missing is art by Jim Starlin. But if you can't have art by Starlin, Ron Lim is the next best choice. Can't believe I was in college when this first came out.
Profile Image for Cesar Millán.
170 reviews
December 2, 2017
A great Introduction, for Thanos and how he started his quest for the Infinity Gems, It is really great to know how he search for this gems in order to gain the attention of Ms Death, and prove his love doing what he does best, Conquering the Universe!!
Profile Image for Collin Huster.
79 reviews
May 27, 2012
Should have read this before Infinity Gauntlet but alas I am learning about what a total hardass / awesome villain Thanos is.
Profile Image for Mark J..
23 reviews
April 4, 2013
Essential reading for readers of Silver Surfer Vol 3 or Infinity Gauntlet. Shows how Thanos gathers the first 3 Infinity Gems.
Profile Image for James Melle.
30 reviews1 follower
May 18, 2015
Loved Thanos Quest, really helped explain and understand more of the origin of The Infinity stones
Profile Image for TJ Shelby.
922 reviews29 followers
January 7, 2016
Great first part of the arc in which Thanos begins his quest for the infinity stones. He obtains the first three in this from the In-Betweener, the Champion and the Gardener.
Profile Image for Steve Magay.
Author 1 book6 followers
August 18, 2016
My disappointment in the Infinity Gauntlet was quenched on this book. Loved how Thanos outsmarted all the gem holders.
Profile Image for C. Rand.
Author 2 books
June 12, 2017
Who wouldn't try to destroy half of all life in the universe to try to impress your crush Mistress Death?
Profile Image for Oliver.
727 reviews16 followers
July 21, 2019
Well, after watching Avengers: Endgame, I was curious to see how it went down in the comics. Turns out, originally Thanos set out to half the universe’s population because Mistress Death assigned this task to him after reanimating his soul (the soul of Adam Warlock turned him into stone in Marvel Two-in-One Annual #2) and giving him a new body. Thanos then convinced Death that it would take centuries for him to accomplish this and asks for her permission to seek out the six “Soul Gems.” Of course he has his own motive in obtaining them, but you’ll be surprised to find out .

It only takes Thanos two issues to secure all six stones, which seems a little too easy, and it also is very convenient that most of the Elders in possession of the stones do not realize the full potential of their respective stones and are therefore unable to properly harness their power. I know even the Elders aren’t infallible, but the way Thanos gets all the stones in the movies feels more believable (both in time taken and who he has to take them from).

The Thanos Quest also commits my biggest pet peeve in any superhero story, which is writing a character as so powerful that no writer could possibly come up a plausible way to defeat them. Even before he gets his hands on the stones Thanos can already travel through different planes of existence unharmed (“for a lesser being this would be a fatal endeavor… [but] reality, like all outside influences, has a minimal effect”), is “outside Destiny’s usual realm of influence,” and “chaos and order have no power over” him. Movie Spoiler:

I also just think it’s silly that Thanos has to rename the stones as Infinity Gems. Why not just call them that from the beginning? Then you can avoid the ridiculous exchange in Thanos Quest #2 where Thanos corrects the Collector when he refers to them as Soul Gems. It felt like Thanos was trying to start a new trend, like when those people tried to get everyone to call french fries “freedom fries,” (except that “infinity stones” doesn’t sound moronic).

But, for all of the bashing that it seems like I just did of these two comic issues, I do like them. I do like how Thanos isn’t just powerful, but also clever, pragmatic, and diplomatic. And, as always, the Marvel artists’ artwork is awesome.
Profile Image for Aykut Elmas.
64 reviews43 followers
February 9, 2019
Ben Thanos'u filmlerden önce de bilirdim. Ve en sevdiğim çizgiroman karakterlerinden birisidir. O nedenle Thanos serisine başladım. Bu da ilk kitap. İki kitaplık bir seriymiş sanırım. Thanos yine bildiğimiz gibi bilgeliği ve gücü ile sonsuzluk taşlarının peşine düşüyor. Ancak olaylar benim tahmin ettiğimden hızlı gelişiyor. Daha ilk kitapta 3taşı eline geçirdi bile. Sanırım ikinci kitapta macera sonlanacak. O zaman ben de diğer serilere geçeceğim. Bu kitapta sonsuzluk taşlarının hepsine ruh taşı denilmesi de ilgimi çekti. Çizimler üst düzey değil, İngilizcesi biraz ağır. Çok eski bir çizgi roman olduğu için görmezden gelinebilecek şeyler. Ama diyaloglar iyi.
Profile Image for Ali AK.
126 reviews1 follower
May 24, 2025
The TITAN lives, and he’s on the hunt for the “infinity stones”, here called infinity gems or soul gems. Here Thanos was the protagonist, which is interesting. We follow the journey of a supervillain. In a way Thanos is the protagonist of the Infinity War film, so I guess this shouldn’t be a surprise to me. But there were no other perspectives like in the film, so it was totally just Thanos’ perspective.

Interesting. I flew through these pages and I’m excited to see what part 2 has in store for me
Profile Image for Aldo Verde.
140 reviews2 followers
November 18, 2023
Penso sia uno dei fumetti Marvel più belli che abbia mai letto. I disegni sono assurdi. Sembra fatto tutto sotto acidi. Parla del cosmo, dell’anima, dei sogni, della dicotomia fra caos e ordine. Assurdo.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews